This evidence ended in one place’ – Entwistle guilty

Thursday

Jun 26, 2008 at 12:01 AMJun 26, 2008 at 12:01 AM

When Rachel and Lillian Rose Entwistle were found dead in their Hopkinton home more than two years ago, investigators followed all leads looking for their killer. A jury of six men and six women yesterday decided those leads led directly to Neil Entwistle, 29, finding him guilty of the Jan. 20, 2006, murders of his wife and daughter.

Norman Miller

When Rachel and Lillian Rose Entwistle were found dead in their Hopkinton home more than two years ago, investigators followed all leads looking for their killer.
A jury of six men and six women yesterday decided those leads led directly to Neil Entwistle, 29, finding him guilty of the Jan. 20, 2006, murders of his wife and daughter.
``In the end, we follow the evidence,'' said prosecutor Michael Fabbri, ``and this evidence ended in one place.''
The courtroom was silent as the jury foreman read the verdict, first saying Entwistle was guilty of murdering Rachel, 27, and then saying he was guilty of murdering his 9-month-old daughter, Lillian.
At a press conference after the verdict, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone, surrounded by at least 30 of Rachel's loved ones, had harsh words for the convicted killer and his legal strategy.
``I condemn Neil Entwistle for compounding the unspeakable nature of what he has done by disparaging the memory of his wife and vilifying the entire Matterazzo family by his decisions during the course of this trial,'' Leone said.
Entwistle's lawyer, Elliot Weinstein, tried to convince the jury that Rachel killed her daughter and then herself.
``The murders committed by Neil Entwistle against his wife, Rachel, and their baby daughter Lillian were unimaginable, unforgivable acts,'' Leone said. ``Those crimes were made even more shameful by the cowardly way he attempted to disparage his wife and her family during the trial.
``We speak for people with no voices,'' Leone said. ``During this case, we spoke, literally, for Rachel and Lillian.''
Entwistle will be formally sentenced today by Judge Dianne Kottmyer. State law requires a life sentence in prison without the chance of parole.
Part of today's court session is expected to include statements from members of Rachel's family.
Yesterday, Joe Flaherty, a lawyer who has acted as a spokesman for Rachel's mother, Priscilla Matterazzo, and her husband, Joe Matterazzo, thanked the prosecutors for their work, while condemning Entwistle for his betrayal.
``We may never know why this happened, but we do know Rachel and Lillian Rose loved and trusted Neil Entwistle,'' he said. ``Neil Entwistle's actions on Jan. 20, 2006, betrayed that love and trust. Neil Entwistle will now live with his evil deeds for the rest of his natural life only to be judged again.''
Joe Matterazzo thanked the well-wishers who sent cards from around the country and from England, supporting them.
``It was a tremendous help over the last two and a half years,'' said Matterazzo, who declined to answer questions.
When the verdict was read, Entwistle did not appear to react. His mother, Yvonne, father, Clifford, and brother Russell, did not show any emotion.
At least one member of the large group of Rachel Entwistle's friends and relatives broke down in tears.
After the verdict, before he sat down, Entwistle turned and looked at his family.
In a hallway outside the courtroom, Yvonne Entwistle said, ``Rachel Entwistle murdered our granddaughter. My son is innocent.''
She reiterated her position to a flock of reporters outside the Woburn courthouse.
``We know that our son Neil is innocent, and we are devastated to learn that the evidence points to Rachel murdering our grandchild and then committing suicide,'' she said. ``I knew Rachel was depressed. Our son will now go to jail for loving, honoring and protecting his wife's memory.''
Clifford Entwistle said there was no way his son could receive a fair trial.
``We will continue to fight for our innocent son with the hope that one day justice will prevail and our little granddaughter, Lillian, will rest in peace,'' he said.
Leone said he did not blame the Entwistles for their reaction, stressing that he feels for them, too.
``I would expect nothing less from the parents of someone whose son was just convicted of first-degree murder,'' he said.
Defense lawyer Weinstein said there are ``very significant'' constitutional law issues due to police making what he calls two illegal searches of 6 Cubs Path.
He said those issues would be brought up on appeal, and he believes that the case ``will meet a successful review in the (state) Supreme Court.''
All first-degree murder convictions are automatically appealed.
The verdict at 3:15 came after about a day and a half of deliberations. The jury had to choose not only if Entwistle was guilty or not, but if he was guilty of first- or second-degree murder. Entwistle was also found guilty to two gun-related charges.
The trial began on June 2 with four days of jury selection. Twelve days of testimony followed, with 46 witnesses called and more than 100 pieces of evidence presented.
Prosecutors based their case on the idea that Entwistle was obsessed with online escort services and a swingers' Web site. He was out of work and deep in debt.
Although authorities say Rachel and Lillian Rose were murdered on Jan. 20, 2006, no one became suspicious until the following day.
Priscilla Matterazzo and a friend went to the Hopkinton home in the afternoon to play with Lillian Rose, but no one answered the door. Matterazzo left a note on the door to let the Entwistles know they had stopped at the house.
Several hours later, Rachel's friend Joanna Gately arrived with her sister Maureen to have dinner with the Entwistles. Again, no one answered and they found Matterazzo's note.
After speaking to Gately, Matterazzo called Hopkinton Police, who did a well-being check in the home, but found nothing suspicious.
Still concerned, the Gatelys spent the night in their Ford Focus in the driveway, hoping the family would come home. They did not.
The following day, the Matterazzos filed a missing-person report with police, who, while making a more thorough search, found the bodies in the bedroom, underneath blankets.
Lillian Rose had been shot in the chest, while Rachel died of a single gunshot wound to the head.
Police instantly began looking for Neil Entwistle and found the couple's rented BMW at Logan Airport. They tracked him to his native England, where he was arrested on Feb. 8.
During the investigation, police learned Entwistle was heavily in debt. He also had a penchant for looking online for prostitutes. In the week before the murders, investigators said, Entwistle searched several murder and suicide Web sites, and entered the words ``How to kill with a knife'' into an Internet search engine.
Fabbri, in his closing statement, said Entwistle drove to the Matterazzos' Carver home, grabbed a .22-caliber Colt revolver, returned to Hopkinton and shot Rachel and Lillian Rose.
Entwistle returned the gun to Carver, Fabbri said, and fled to England.
Weinstein had argued that Entwistle was not a murderer.
Rather, he said, Entwistle was a loving husband and father trying to protect Rachel's memory. Weinstein claimed Entwistle came home that day to find his wife had murdered their daughter and then killed herself. He returned the gun to protect her memory and then left the country, Weinstein said.
The murder-suicide defense was not a surprise to prosecutors.
``I'm glad we anticipated it, because we were able to marshal the facts to dispute it,'' Fabbri said.
During the trial, Entwistle did not testify. However, two separate taped interviews with Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Robert Manning were played in court, totaling nearly two hours and 45 minutes.
``In the end, Neil Entwistle was the best piece of evidence we had,'' Fabbri said.
Fabbri said he knew jurors would come back and make ``Neil Entwistle a first-degree murderer.''
Richard Vautour of Newton Upper Falls, one of the jurors, declined to comment on the verdict. He said he, the other 11 sitting jurors and the four alternate jurors had decided they will speak to the media at some point as a group.
Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@cnc.com.

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